A collaboration between NCAER and the Univeristy of Maryland, the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) was designed to complement existing Indian surveys by bringing together a wide range of indicators in a single survey.  Unlike single-topic surveys, the IHDS collects data on different dimensions of human development like education, caste, gender relations and infrastructure. This breadth permits analyses of associations across a range of social and economic conditions. For example, studying indicators for children (e.g., learning, immunizations) requires joint consideration of the roles of poverty, family structure, gender relations, community context, and the availability of facilities.

The first round (IHDS-1) of the survey was completed in 2004-5 covering 41,554 urban and rural households in all states and union territories of India (except Andaman/Nicobar and Lakshadweep). The data are publicly available through ICPSR and are currently being used by about 7,000 users worldwide. During 2011-12, the second round (IHDS-II) re-interviewed the same households, creating one of the largest panel surveys in the world and providing a direct measure of India’s economic progress over seven years. The NCAER is currently collating the data from IHDS-II and the data are expected to be made public in early-2015. 

More details about the IHDS and key findings can be found on the IHDS website.

For additional information, please contact Prof Sonalde Desai.

Events

India Human Development Survey-II Advisory Panel Meeting

Roundtable discussion on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Roundtable Discussion on Caring for the Elderly in India: Challenges for a Society in Transition

Leapfrogging Methodology & Technology in Household Survey Research: Lessons from the US and India

Human Development in India: Evidence from IHDS

Researchers

Debasis Barik

Debasis Barik is a Fellow at NCAER, working with the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) team. His research interests lie in public health, demography, migration, gender, labour and social security. His dissertation was centered on the health and economic implications of ageing population in Indian states. His current research focuses on health and health systems.  His other research interests include analysing the issues arising out of demographic transition in India. 

Sonalde Desai

Sonalde Desai is a Professor at NCAER with a joint appointment as Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. She directs the NCAER-National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC), a newly established Centre by NCAER with its consortium partners, University of Maryland and University of Michigan. She is an internationally known demographer whose work deals primarily with human development in developing countries with a particular focus on gender and class inequalities. While most of her research focuses on India, she has also undertaken comparative studies across South Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. At present, Sonalde Desai is leading the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), India’s only nationally representative panel study with interviews in 2004–05 and 2011–12. The next wave of IHDS is planned for 2019-20. The IHDS is used by over 9,000 users worldwide and has led to nearly 500 papers and dissertations. Desai is a member of the editorial committee of Population and Development Review and has served on the editorial advisory boards of many Indian and international journals. At present, she chairs the International Outreach Committee of the Population Association of America.   

She has published articles in a wide range of Indian and international sociology and demography journals and is a frequent contributor to The Hindu.

Prabir Kumar Ghosh

Prabir Kumar Ghosh is a Fellow at NCAER. Currently, he is involved in coordinating all-India level survey work and analysis of large scale primary data. His research interests include development economics, human development, income, expenditure, poverty & nutrition, demography, and budgetary analysis on social sector & poverty alleviation programs. 

Dinesh Kumar Tiwari

Dinesh Kumar Tiwari is an Associate Fellow at NCAER. He is an anthropologist with a rich experience of primary data collection for large scale social surveys, qualitative interviews and experimental data collection with a specific emphasis on field management, monitoring and supervision, ensuring data quality.  At NCAER he has worked for the India Human Development Survey (IHDS). He is currently engaged with the National Data Innovation Centre of NCAER. His areas of interest include migration studies, ethnographic research, public health and experimental economics.